Tagged: health

A team of data analysts is recommending Louisville pursue public-private partnerships to help collect and organize data to help residents with asthma.

The team was paid for with a grant from technology company IBM’s Smarter Cities program. Members were in Louisville last month interviewing people and collecting data, and revealed preliminary recommendations today.

Team member Anne Fitzpatrick explained how the aggregation of multiple sources of data could help those who suffer from asthma.

Three new studies have added more scientific evidence to support ill health effects from mountaintop removal coal mining.

Over the past few years, several studies have presented evidence supporting links between health problems—like cancer and birth defects—that are more prevalent in communities with mountaintop removal mines. But these new studies attempt to pinpoint specific pollutants that could be causing those health problems.

Indiana health officials say the West Nile virus has been confirmed among mosquitoes in the state weeks earlier than last year.

The State Department of Health says tests found the virus in mosquitoes in southern Indiana's Orange County, which is northwest of Louisville.

The department says the virus wasn't confirmed in the insects until mid-July last year, and it's impossible to predict whether that will mean greater severity of illnesses in people because rainfall and temperatures this summer will affect the number of mosquitoes.

A handful of Jefferson County Public Schools students are walking today in support of World Immunization Week.

The campaign targets the estimated 1.7 million children that will die this year from diseases that have “all but disappeared in the U.S.”  One in five children around the world do not have access to the life-saving immunizations needed to survive, according to the Shot@Life website. The map above shows data from the World Health Organization (WHO) on immunization coverage with measles-containing vaccines in infants.

The “World Immunization Week” is a campaign led by WHO, and along with it the Shot@Life campaign is launching this week to raise awareness of immunization issues affecting other countries.

As Time Magazine reports, while some diseases like measles have increased in areas of the world, deaths by measles has actually declined the past decade.